Page 71 of Blood Money

She ended the call, Gray’s angry shout still echoing in her ears.

Nothing mattered but Nicky. She knew this whole thing stank and that Gray would be furious with her for not following his orders, but she couldn’t take the chance that the Pyramid would make good on their threat to hurt her son. Or worse…

…kill him.

She threw her phone onto the passenger seat. All around her, traffic threatened to jam her into a standstill and she only had ten minutes to get to midtown. Two more turns and she made it to Church Street, a normally flowing route uptown. Not today. Tourist buses lined up on the east side of the road, obstructing an entire lane. Taxis zigzagged in and out, adding to the melee. She glanced at the dashboard clock. It had already been several minutes since the woman called, and Alex hadn’t even gone six blocks. The distance to the new meet location was less than a mile away, but in crowded Manhattan streets, that could easily mean forty minutes.

“C’mon, c’mon.” Alex cut left onto Barclay Street, taking a chance that the West Side Drive would be moving better. Beside her, her cell phone shrilled. A quick glance confirmed it was Gray. She ignored the call, looking again in her rearview mirror for his car or the other surveillance vehicle. All she saw was a street lined with taxis, buses, and cars she didn’t recognize.

Just before turning onto the West Side Drive, a uniformed officer on foot raced down the sidewalk in her direction. Gray must have radioed in an alert for the uniforms to stop her. Gunning the engine before the officer could reach her, Alex shot toward the ramp onto the highway. She glanced again in the rearview mirror. The cop would never catch up to her, but Gray would have every unit in the city looking for her vehicle.

She serpentined the sedan the entire way uptown, exiting at the Seventy-ninth Street Boat Basin, praying no one would pull her over. Repeated glances in both mirrors told her no police cars were in pursuit.

Turning onto Seventy-ninth Street, she made it one block before jamming on the brakes to keep from slamming into the car ahead of her. “No.” She pounded her fist on the steering wheel.

Traffic was at a dead stop. Up ahead, Con Edison workers blocked most of the intersection at Broadway on three sides. Cars inched their way along, impeded more by the constantly changing traffic lights and pedestrians blocking their paths. From the looks of things, there was no way she would make it to the meet on time. She’d have to hoof it, but there was no place to park. Both sides of the street were packed with vehicles.

She glanced at her watch. Two minutes to go.

The woman’s voice rang in her ears. Do not be late. Your son’s life depends on it.

Her cell phone rang again. Gray.

Sweat trickled between Alex’s shoulder blades. She unbuckled her seat belt, grabbed the envelope, and flung open the door. A second later, she was tearing down the sidewalk, leaving the rental car in the middle of the street. Horns blared behind her, no doubt because she’d blocked the lane with the abandoned Taurus.

People stared at her, and she couldn’t give a shit. At the intersection, Alex stopped to catch her breath and looked for her Pyramid contact. She sucked in heavy breaths, wishing she’d stayed in better shape. She searched all four corners, looking for anyone who appeared to be waiting.

Construction vehicles repairing a sinkhole in the middle of the intersection partially obstructed her view. Across the street on the northeast corner, a man with dark hair leaned against the corner of a building. Even before he nodded, Alex knew this was her contact.

Struggling to slow her breathing, she crossed against traffic, zigzagging through the slow-moving cars and taxis, earning her a few more angry stares and honks. Her heart beat wildly. She held on to the envelope so tightly it crinkled in her grip. She covered the remaining distance on the sidewalk and stopped three feet from the man. He had swarthy skin and lifeless, dark eyes. Without a word, he extended his hand. Alex took the envelope from beneath her arm and handed it to him. As soon as he grabbed it, an explosion rocked the pavement.

Alex spun, covering her face. Bits of dirt and pebbles pelted her back. Her ears rang. She removed her hands to see a burning, smoking shell of a car.

Screams and shouts came at her from all sides. Footsteps pounded as people ran past her. Alex sucked in a breath laden with dust and the pungent smell of burning fuel.

I have to get out of here.

She stepped onto the street, preparing to run.

Tires screeched. A dark van skidded to a stop at the curb. Alex jumped back.

Hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Something about the van wasn’t right. Why was it stopping in front of her?

Anyone with half a brain would be driving like hell away from the explosion, not parking near it.

She took another step backward. Something sharp pricked her arm through her coat sleeve. She gasped, looking down at the source of the pain. A dark-skinned hand removed a needle from her arm. Her arms felt heavy, then limp.

What the…? Oh. No.

She couldn’t walk. Couldn’t run. Everything began to happen in slow motion.

Sounds around her vibrated. Pedestrians became blurry.

An arm closed around her shoulder, propelling her forward. Alex tried to lift her arms, but they felt disconnected from her body and didn’t respond to the signal her brain was giving them. She tried to scream, but her mouth wouldn’t work.

She was falling.

Her shoulder hit something hard. Then all went black.